An Emergen(cy)t Intermission

I recently paged through some online articles which talked about Rob Bell, or more specifically, the Emergent Church. I felt rather compelled to write down some thoughts, some which I drew directly from the articles I read, some of which seemed an issue which arose naturally from the theology of the Emergent movement. Eventually, I hope to post on how the many of the core values of the Emergent church can be redeemed, and in fact better utilized, in a Christ-adoring, Scripture-savoring, Spirit-soaked approach to Christianity.

Question #1: Do people apart from Christ need to fear the wrath of God?

Absolutely! The gospels all make this message very clear in their message of repentance, lest those who disregarded it should perish (Matt. 4:17, Mark 1:15, Luke 13:3, Luke 13:5, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, Acts 8:22, Acts 17:30, Acts 26:20). Furthermore, Jesus commanded his disciples to preach a strict repentance (Mark 6:11-12). Why do those who are apart from Christ need to fear the wrath of God? Because they are sinful and deserve the wrath of God! Apart from Christ, we all deserve the wrath of God. Praise God for the grace found in our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus!

Question #2: Do people who are found in Christ need to fear the wrath of God?

Absolutely not! Now, we must have an utmost respect for the infinite holiness of God (respect that causes us to kneel before a King), and seek with our whole heart (through our love for Christ) to avoid sin, but we need not fear God’s wrath! As Christians, if we fear the wrath of God, we are robbing Christ of the proper glory He received, and the righteousness He imputed, on the cross. (Hebrews 4:16)

Question #3: What is the gospel?

The gospel is the good news found in Christ Jesus, namely, through Christ, we now have access to the Father. That is the good news! It was this very thing that was destroyed in the Garden of Eden- direct access/communion/intimacy with the Father. That was the good news Jesus came to declare, that through His sacrifice, we, who believe, are forgiven.

Question #4: But isn't the gospel feeding the poor and advocating for the oppressed?

Although these actions are truely one of the marks of a faithful Christian (Gal. 2:10, James 1:27), these actions are not the gospel themselves, but instead a RESULT of accepting the gospel of Christ through saving faith. Caring for the poor and advocating for the opressed are the natural result of the renewing of ones heart by the words of Scripture and the fruits of the Spirit. Martin Luther, in his commentary on Galatians 2:10, says thus: “Next to the preaching of the Gospel, a true and faithful pastor will take care of the poor. Where the Church is, there must be the poor, for the world and the devil persecute the Church and impoverish many faithful Christians.” Here we see that Luther makes differentiation between preaching the gospel and caring for the poor, and therefore, although one leads to another, there is still a clear distinction between the two.

Question #5: What is the best method of evangelism?

In reference to evangelism, I would pose this question: is it not true that Christ will return like a thief in the night? (2 Peter 3:10) If a man is walking on the edge of a precipice, do we shout a warning or simply whisper a simple observation or anecdote? Sir, if I am ever walking on the edge of a precipice, please shout, for although it is not pleasant to my ears, in hindsight, it is a far more loving thing to do. Now, granted, “shout” can moreso be understood as metaphor for a fervent, heartfelt, Scripture-soaked warning, and not necessarily yelling at someone through a loudspeaker (aka Bell's bullhorn guy), but to assume that the one shouting is not showing love in his actions is an equal tragedy. (Matt. 10:27)

Question #6: When Scripture speaks of "being a witness", doesn't it refer more to an identity rather than an action?

The Greek word for “witness”, when speaking of the action “to bear witness”, most literally means “to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something," or “utter honourable testimony, give a good report” or “to implore.” (Strong’s G3140) The word witness must not simply be used as a strict identity, when Christ used it as both an identity AND an action.

Question #7: Does hell exist? Is the Bible literal when it speaks of hell?

If the Bible is understood as a metaphoric literary hodgepodge of the Jewish nation's history, then hell's existance and literal meaning is definitely up for debate, but if the Bible is understood as the divinely inspired, breathed, infallible Word of God, then I believe the following verses would answer the question in a satisfactory manner: Isa. 26:44, Eze. 33:4, Matt. 13:49-50, Matt. 25:46, Luke 3:9, Luke 3:17, Luke 16:19-26, Romans 2:5.

Question #8: Is preaching the "fear of hell" a legitimate means of bringing nonbelievers to accept Christ?

I would argue yes (Matt. 13:47-51, Matt. 25:14-46, Luke 3:9, Luke 13:3-5, etc.), but at the same time argue that, ultimately, fear of hell is NOT the reason for accepting Christ, and Scripture makes this quite clear. John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, and Paul make it quite clear that when speaking of fear, it is the fear of the WRATH OF ALMIGHTY GOD which should drive us to Christ! It is a terrible TERRIBLE thing to fall into the hands of the Living God! (Heb. 10:30-31, Heb. 12:29) We MUST turn to Christ for any hope of salvation! Our God is a just God, but He is also a God of mercy, compassion, and love, which He portrayed through His Son Jesus Christ, to the glory of His grace.

Question #9: Doesn't the Hebrew word "to save" really just mean "to be made whole"?

The Greek word “sozo” (Strong’s G4982) or “to save” does indeed also translate as “made whole.” The interesting thing, however, is that every time “sozo” is translated (in the New Testament) as “made whole”, it is ALWAYS referring to a physical healing by Christ. Now, granted, Christ never healed physically and neglected spiritually. On the contrary, Christ’s healings were almost always paired with a command to “go and sin no more” or “your faith has healed you.” The point is, when “sozo” is translated in reference to literal salvation, it ALWAYS refers, first and foremost, to a “saving from destruction.” (Luke 9:56, etc.) As a side note, the word “sozo” is used 110 times in the New Testament. 93 times, it is translated to being “saved”; 11 times it is translated in reference to being “made whole” (and once again, “made whole” is always paired with physical healing).

Question #10: Do you have any last comments on the Emergent Church?

I would like to make a statement to those reading this blog concerning the Emergent Church. Be wary of those who create a doctrinal theology around a handful of verses. This is a distributional fallacy, or more specifically, a fallacy of composition, which is understood as using the truth of the parts to understand/ascertain the truth of the whole. Now, this fallacy does not negate the truth of the parts, for on the contrary, it affirms them. However, Scripture must use the truth of the WHOLE to understand the truth of the whole, and not simply the truth of the parts. A proper Biblical exegesis is growing rare a little too quickly. For example, if we were to understand Scripture based off of a few key verses in the Old Testament (which incidentally is what the teachers of the law did), we would be in big trouble doctrinally and theologically, not to mention we still might be slaughtering animals for sacrifices! The point is, the Emergent Church may point to some Scriptures, e.g. "It is my will that none shall perish..", "For the Son of Man came into the world, not to condemn the world...", "God so loved the world...", and with them attempt to create an exhaustive theology/doctrine, but this simply cannot be done without being unfaithful to Scripture as a whole. Again, my statements here are NOT DENYING the truthes of the Scriptures aforementioned, but simply saying that, in good faith, the Bible must be read as the entire, revealed will of God. I would also make the point that the Emergent movement is not the only Christian movement guilty of this, and it is necessary to carefully examine our own doctrines to make sure we are savoring the whole of Scripture, and not just a part.

A Christmas Intermission

So I decided to take a small intermission from Paul for a Christmas post!

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come outof the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

Today, I found out.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly (due to the Anglican church). Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

Interesting huh? I like it!

Merry Christmas! "For unto us a Child is born..."

...to Antioch...

…he was a man desired of God, a man desired through Jesus Christ, a man to be made little, so that Christ may seem great, that Christ may be glorified. He was a man liberated, whose cords were snapped, a man given rest from his heavy burden. Rest…

Perhaps that is why Barnabas departed to Tarsus to seek him (Acts 11:25)

…a son of rest…

He was to go to Antioch. (Acts 11:26) Antioch, a city located in the Roman province of Galatia. They were called Christians there…a follower of Christ…a brave title in both the Roman and the Jewish world…perhaps a brave title in our own.

Yet this man from Tarsus had to be found, had to be initially sought out by the Christian leaders. An immediate affect of conversion is wonderment, a reflection, a change, a desire to learn of the One who has called you, a desire to love. Perhaps that is why he had to be found, perhaps that is why he “did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.” (Galatians 1:16) Perhaps that is why he spent three years in the desert (Galatians 1:18). He was learning, he was loving.

But conversion causes more than a wonderment - it causes a passion - a passion for the thing which has caused wonderment, and a holy hatred of the thing left behind. Oh death, where is thy victory…?

The law, the law which he had loved, the traditions he had championed (Galatians 1:14) were now nothing more than a stumbling block and a curse in his eyes. These had brought him no hope, for it is against these goads that he had kicked most furiously. Justification, how is man justified? “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)

Flesh…foreskin…a different gospel…

I suppose it was good news for Abraham when he heard he was having a child. Haggar was a close second to Sarah, and God probably meant for it to happen this way, through a bondwoman, right?

Where was Abraham’s righteousness? In his faith. Where was Abraham’s faith? In his obedience. Where was Abraham’s obedience…?

Bound to flesh, bound to flesh!

“Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar…”(Galatians 4:21-24)

Bondage…the flesh…the curse…

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’” (Galatians 3:10)

“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God (imagine this implication), how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.” (Galatians 4:9-11)

The man from Tarsus understood it well…the need for justification…the penalty of the law...

“…now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of the promise.” (Galatians 4:28)

Children of a promise…

To whom was this promise made, and how are we now children of the promise, as this man from Tarsus boldly proclaimed?

“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made…” (Galatians 3:16-19)

The Seed of Abraham…the Child of the promise…a promise between a Father and Son...

A Covenant!

Christ!

“But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” (Galatians 3:22)

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14)

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

Had the law failed? No, for “the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:24-29)

This man from Tarsus, blinded by the light of our resurrected Lord on the road to Emmaus, and now an heir in Christ Himself, an heir to the promise, the promise made by God to Himself, and carried out in the work of his Son Jesus Christ, who became a curse for us, that we might be freed from the yoke - the bondwoman - and find freedom in Christ…that we might find hope…that we might find life…

The man from Tarsus, called Christian in Antioch, on the road to Rome…

From Tarsus...

I think, perhaps, this is the best place to start- born under the law and rebellious against Christ. It’s where he started. When I say start, I simply mean a state of natural being. It is the nature of human beings to be born under the law, as it is the nature of human beings to be born rebellious to Christ. This man from Tarsus, as it would seem, understood the former (Acts 22:3), but not to the ramification that he would later understand it (Galatians 3:10). As for the latter, as it does in the lives of all men and women, a miracle needed to occur.

He was from Tarsus, the Stoic capital of the ancient world. Stoicism, a philosophy that pressed towards moral and intellectual perfection, where emotion was weakness and virtue was sufficient for happiness. Perhaps that is why he became a Pharisee of the strictest sect. Perhaps that is why he stood by as Stephen was stoned. Perhaps that is why he put believers of Christ in chains. Or perhaps it was something more. Maybe it was Christ. I think it was. “For I will show him how much he is to suffer…” (Acts 9:16)

It is interesting how this man from Tarsus entered into the story; almost as an afterthought. A terrible, terrible afterthought. He stood by, guarding the clothes of those who stoned that saint, that pillar of faith, Stephen. It was his consent. His silence spoke for him. Perhaps that is why he remembered it so well (Acts 22:20).

Was he innocent of Stephens’s blood? No. Ignorant maybe (1 Tim. 1:13), but innocent no. This man from Tarsus, a future saint, was, by first regard, guilty of innocent blood. This afterthought, this man standing by a pile of clothing, was a murderer. But he was a Roman after all wasn’t he? Did not the Roman’s condemn innocent blood? Did not they consent; did not the whole world consent? In his denial, did not even Peter consent? It seems that those called to the greatest tasks are those Christ brought furthest into the grave with Him. But Christ brought them back, yea, has He not even brought us out of the grave! To Peter, He says build my Church! And to this man from Tarsus…

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads!” (Acts 26:14) Who are you Lord? Who are you? Who are you…? We must first ask, who was this man from Tarsus?

We have our starting point. A man born under the law, a man born rebellious to Christ, a man guilty of murder, an afterthought, a man…afraid of the law? Afraid of death?

The Greek word for “goad” is kentron. A goad, as it was typically understood in ancient times, was a long pole with a pricking “stinger” on the end. It was an instrument used to prick the back of an ox, or a similar beast or burden, in order to urge it onwards. A beast of burden…

To “kick against the goads” literally meant to rebel against the one driving the cart, and figuratively meant to exert a futile resistance. But who was the cart driver, and why was this man from Tarsus so resistant to a futile end?

The Greek word kentron is understood was referring to a “goad”, but more specifically, it referred to the sting on the end of the pole. It was a sting. A painful sting. Where else was this word kentron, this sting, also used? “Oh death, where is your victory, oh death where is your sting!” (1 Corinthians 15:55) This man from Tarsus was kicking against the goads…this man from Tarsus was fighting against death…death…

Do not all people fear death? Do not all people succumb in futility to its sting? Why kick against the goads? Why resist the one who drove the cart? Who drove the cart? “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.” (1 Corinthians 15:56)

A beast of burden…the sting of death…the law…

A Pharisee of the strictest sect, a man who championed moral and intellectual perfection. An afterthought who feared that which he loved, the law, and feared the very thing that, through the law, he sought to escape…a rightful punishment…death…

Did he see himself for what he was? Though he struggled, did he see futility? “Who are you Lord?” Who are you…?

“I AM Jesus, whom you persecute.” Oh tired and heavy laden, oh beast with heavy burden, come to Me, and I shall give thee rest, My yoke is easy, My burden is light…

The burden…the yoke…the law…

The man from Tarsus, blinded by the light of our resurrected Lord. “Who are you Lord?”

I AM Jesus.

I AM Life.

I AM.

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us…” (Gal. 3:13)

“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 25:8)

Start beating again dead heart!

The man from Tarsus…redeemed…on the road to Antioch…